Selenomethionine as a Safer Substitute for Barium Selenate in Long-Acting Injectable Se Supplements for Food-Producing Animals

Abstract

Nutritional supplementation with selenium (Se) can prevent Se deficiency in food-producing animals. Injection with slow-release formulations is a preferred method for free-range grazing sheep and cattle, and barium selenate (BaSeO) provides optimal efficacy. This chemical can become a health risk to humans if the concentrated depot of an injection site is consumed, and consequently such use is recently banned in the EU. A possible replacement is selenomethionine (SeMet), a naturally occurring form of Se supplementation hitherto only administered orally. In four animal studies we found that injection with SeMet maintained nutritionally adequate concentrations of Se in blood and tissues of lambs for at least 191 days and in blood and milk of dairy cows for at least 95 days. Stereoisomer forms L- and DL-SeMet were functionally equivalent. This is the first demonstration that injectable SeMet can deliver efficacy similar to BaSeO but with less risk of undesirable residues in edible tissues.

Effects of Supplementary Seleno-L-methionine on Atopic Dermatitis-Like Skin Lesions in Mice

“…7,11) SeMet is considered a useful chemical form for nutritional supplementation compared with inorganic selenium compounds. [12][13][14][15] Some studies have reported that patients with asthma showed significantly lower selenium concentration in nails or blood and significantly lower GPx activity in the blood. [16][17][18][19][20] According to a cohort study on AD prevention, selenium deficiency has been reported to increase the risk of AD.…”